OM Dark Sky Park & Observatory is a stellar attraction that offers some of the best things to do with kids in County Tyrone. Located inside the ancient trees of Davagh Forest, this interactive indoor and outdoor space centre sits in one of the darkest places on Earth. It is the only official International Dark Sky Park in Northern Ireland, making it an ideal day out for families who want to swap bright city lights for stars, planets, and constellations.

Prices start from £4.00 for children and £6.20 for adults for the main exhibition guided tours. Outdoor activities like the planetary trail and the stargazing platforms can be accessed for free, keeping the day out highly affordable. Families can easily tailor their visit to match a budget while enjoying world-class space tech.

If you are looking for the best place for a day out with family and kids, this cosmic adventure brilliantly bridges ancient history with modern space exploration. Children can track the solar system across a forest path, step into virtual reality headsets, and view massive telescopes that peek into deep space. It is an educational, active, and highly memorable trip out that will capture the imagination of every young astronomer.

What are the key features for families?

• Sensory Play and Tech: Interactive digital touch screens allow children to explore space science at their own pace.
• Interactive Exhibits: Hands-on virtual reality headsets immerse kids into the birth of stars and cosmic phenomena.
• Educational Day Out: Expert guides explain complex astronomy concepts in a way that relates perfectly to school-aged children.
• Outdoor Exploration: The site perfectly blends a rugged forest hike with historical stone circles and space science.

What are the main highlights kids will love?

• The Meade 14-inch LX600 Telescope: Located on the upper viewing gallery of the observatory building, this giant professional telescope is the undisputed star of the show. Guides use it to project live, high-definition images of the moon, stars, and planets directly onto large presentation screens downstairs. Children love seeing the actual machinery that scans the galaxy.
• The Virtual Reality Space Walk: At the end of the indoor tour, visitors put on high-tech virtual reality goggles to take a simulated walk through the universe. This immersive experience drops you straight into starry nebulae and spinning planets. It is a massive hit with teenagers and older children who love tech.
• The Interactive Exhibition Space: The ground floor of the centre is packed with vibrant touch screens, colourful graphics, and modern space displays. Children can interact with the consoles to learn how light pollution affects wildlife, how the universe was formed, and what constellations are visible from their own back garden.
• The Ambient Stargazing Platforms: Outside the main building, custom-built wooden viewing decks are fitted with specialized, eye-friendly red ambient lighting. This specific lighting keeps your eyes adjusted to the pitch black of the forest. Families can sit out safely after hours to look up at the natural night sky.
• The Ancient Ogham Stone: Tying the landscape to ancient history, the centre showcases an original Ogham stone featuring early Irish script markings from the 4th Century AD. It helps kids connect the modern search for stars with the way ancient civilisations tracked the sky using symbols and shapes.

Beyond the Main Attraction

• The OM Solar Walk: This brilliant 3.4km outdoor trail starts right at the observatory building and stretches across the forest floor. The linear path represents a scaled model of our solar system, where every metre walked takes you millions of miles deeper into space. Along the gravel paths and wooden boardwalks, markers with QR codes let kids unlock augmented reality graphics on your mobile phone to see Saturn's rings or see how old the Earth is.
• Beaghmore Stone Circles: The Solar Walk trail directly connects the modern observatory to the ancient Beaghmore Stone Circles, located just on the edge of the forest. This Bronze Age site features seven stone circles, ten stone rows, and twelve ancient cairns. Historians believe it was one of Ireland's very first astronomical observatories, built by early humans to track lunar and solar events.
• Davagh Forest Trails: Beyond space exploration, the surrounding forest park offers miles of multi-use walking, running, and mountain biking trails. Families can bring their own bikes or sturdy walking shoes to spot local woodland wildlife, cross scenic river bridges, and explore the rolling hills of the Sperrin Mountains.